Culture & HeritageTraditions & KnowledgeUnspecified Article published on30th June 2022
Do you ever take the time ? Take the time to look straight ahead. To look around you. To look up, and to unveil unsuspected details. Go through these few lines, and we bet your view of these little details will change : the Girouettes de Touraine.
In the heart of the Touraine countryside, a stone’s throw from the sumptuous Château de Chenonceau, let’s push the door of Gérard Morisset’s studio. Set in the small village of Dierre for more than 30 years, this former post office executive devotes himself to a passion that he has matured for a long time : he designs, by hand and from A to Z, weather vanes for roofs of your homes!
Between tradition and passion, the genesis of the workshop
If he remembers having been, as a child, intrigued by the weather vane of a small neighboring castle, it was in his adulthood that this singular piece of heritage really piqued his interest. And the meeting with an enthusiastic collector near Issoudun ended up converting him !
“Originally, the weather vane was reserved for the nobility and the clergy“, he explains. “And after the Revolution, merchants and craftsmen took it over to indicate the location of their shops”. Today, anyone can embellish their roof with these atypical works, customizable as they wish! “A lot of my clients come to me with very personal desires, almost intimate. These are family stories, highlight moments of their lives. Some of the weather vanes that I have created have moved me deeply.”
Besides, all of his works are unique. He makes it a point of honor that each client is an actor in his project.
Art to head-spinning
On his workbench that day, a very stylized bear rubs shoulders with an arrowhead reminiscent of ancient flints. “This client is a lover of Native American culture, of a very specific tribe. I based myself on images that we saw together ”. Certainly, this client will be delighted by the importance given to detail, of a work that will sit several meters high !
When asked what pushed him towards this unusual art, Gérard Morisset evokes values that matter for him. “Being a craftsman means valuing what you are by what you do. It’s trying even if you don’t know how to do it, because acquiring over time is a wealth. It’s having fun while pleasing the customer.” Gérard amazes about twenty customers a year. “It takes me about 3 days to design a weather vane. I start by working the material, often copper, zinc or brass. For soldering, I use silver or tin. For the drawings, I call on an artist friend, Philippe Merlevède, based in Amboise.
Retired since last year, Gérard can concentrate on this profession and passion, alongside his wife, who takes care of the charming gite adjoining their house. And indulge in his other passion : motorcycling. He welcomes with pleasure visitors piqued with curiosity by the simple evocation of this singular art. And who, no doubt, will walk away, like us, paying more attention to what is happening above their heads !
Les Girouettes de Touraine
4 rue de Coquiau
37150 DIERRE
09.63.02.36.66
Ouvert tous les jours (merci de téléphoner)
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